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Cooked pasta is tossed together with ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla before being baked. The result is a delicious dessert, similar to that of baked rice pudding. It's creamy, sweet and deliciously moreish.

This quick main dish can be served hot or cool. The pasta is topped with feta cheese, which has a fresh, salty flavour that goes well with pancetta, the Italian bacon, chickpeas and tomato in the sauce. For best results, use a tubular or thick pasta shape that will complement the chunky sauce.

Making gnocchi is really quick and easy, and most of all it's really cheap and delicious. Gnocchi is often served with cream based sauces, but I feel these are too heavy and the gnocchi's best accompaniment is a tomato based sauce. Serve in a good big bowl in the middle of the table with some crusty bread and let the whole family dig in. This is social food.